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Millions of French people are affected by chronic kidney disease. However, few of them are aware of the very existence of this condition.
Worldwide, more than 850 million people suffer from kidney disease. In France, they are nearly 6 million to be affected by chronic kidney disease. A real public health issue, yet left aside: only half of French people with the disease are currently diagnosed. In this context, the Kidney Foundation organizes a World Kidney Day every year, in order to inform the public and develop screening and early diagnosis of kidney disease. The theme chosen for the 2023 edition will be “Kidney Health for All – Prepare for the Unexpected, Support the Most Vulnerable!”. For its part, AstraZeneca revealed the results of an unprecedented survey on the knowledge of the French people about the disease.
1 in 2 French people think that the kidney is not “essential”
First lesson of the survey conducted by AstraZeneca: the French do not know well the functioning of the kidney.
Nearly 1 in 2 French people think that the kidney is not essential to the functioning of the body (48%) and nearly 2 in 5 French people consider that kidney problems do not have very serious consequences for health. (36%).
In addition, the vast majority of French people are also unaware of the existence of chronic kidney disease: only 13% have already heard of it and three quarters of French people say they do not have a good knowledge of the risk factors (78%) and the consequences. disease (75%).
The severity of the disease is also largely underestimated: less than a quarter know that it cannot be cured (17%) and that one can die from it (24%).
And yet:Chronic kidney disease is a major contributor to increased morbidity and mortality secondary to other diseases and risk factors, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity, as well as infections such as such as AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis or hepatitis, not to mention the nephrotoxicity of drugs”, reveals the Kidney Foundation in a press release.
Even more worryingly, less than 1 in 4 people at risk consider that they are likely to develop chronic kidney disease (24%) and less than 1 in 5 people at risk report being medically monitored for their kidney health (18% ).
And for good reason: in nearly half of the cases, patients with this disease were diagnosed during an examination prescribed for another reason (42%).
25% of patients die within 5 years
However, this disease is not without risk: it alters the functioning of the kidneys, which no longer properly filter the body’s blood.
The mortality rate is also very high: 25% of patients with the “moderate stage” of the disease die within 5 years.
As a result, “There is an urgent need to fill this awareness gap“, reveals Philippe Thébault, President of Alliance du Coeur. “We cannot be satisfied that less than one in four people at risk consider that they are likely to develop chronic kidney disease“.
This is why, as part of National Kidney Week to be held from March 6 to 10, AstraZeneca, with the support of patient associations – Alliance du Coeur, the Collectif National des Associations d’Obèses (CNAO), France Rein and learned societies – Club of Young Nephrologists (CJN), French Society of Arterial Hypertension (SFHTA), Francophone Society of Nephrology Dialysis and Transplantation (SFNDT) – launches an awareness campaign to promote early diagnosis of CKD in people at risk.
For its part, the patient association France Kidney is carrying out, for the 18th consecutive year, in partnership with the Kidney Foundation, an anonymous and free awareness-raising and screening operation throughout France.